An Animated Short by

Steven Payne

stevenpayneuca.blogspot.com

s.b.payne@hotmail.co.uk

linkedin.com/in/sbpayne

@steven_payne

The Making of Franklin

In an industrious English town, a young child, cast aside by his peers,

expresses his true self through his love of a somewhat unconventional pastime.

by

Steven Payne

1In an industrious English town, the pets of local residents are regularly going missing. Whilst there is no evidence to suggest this, it is commonly believed that Ghastly Child from No. 6 has something to do with it.

Something particularly sordid and unsavoury.

Although the reality is all the more unexpected.

As well as the local pets, Franklin takes regular deliveries from various pet shops to help sustain his pastime. Refusing to conform to the expectations of his neighbours, Franklin uses these animals not as a means of

morbid gratification, but to help hone his craft as an enterprising beautician.

2The animation is heavily in uenced by popular culture

of 1970s Britain, and as a result, also takes in uence from other

things in that vein.Particular in uences include the

dark humour of The League of Gentlemen and the blog,

Scarfolk Council. Thematically, the animation takes in uence from Billy Elliot, for its

themes of social redemption.Cinematically, the animation

draws in uence from traditional cinematography,

as demonstrated in the fi lms of Alfred Hitchcock, and the

second act in particular is inspired by the surreal imagery of David Lynch and vivid use of

colour of Dario Argento.

3Character Development

4Franklins design began with researching children of the

period.

The majority of these reference images are candid photographs by Colin OBrien and Terrence

Spencer, depicting children as they interacted with one

another in the 1970s.

These images have inspired Franklins aesthetic appearance,

and they will move on to inspire his key poses and mannerisms

when animating him.

5Franklin is intended to, for the majority of the story, instil an unsettling sense of dread and unease.

This desire led to research into characters of a similar nature in popular culture.

The age of the character was directly informed by this correlation between pre-adolescent innocence and outward creepiness.

6Franklins overall design has taken considerable in uence

from two contrasting aspects of 1970s culture.

His outward appearance is inspired by the clean-cut,

family centric pop music of the Osmonds and the Partridge

Family.

7The other end of this musical spectrum is that of Disco and Glam rock.

These musical alter egos are re ective of the transformation of the character in Act Three, as well as the amboyance of the subcultures.

8I began developing Franklins appearance by sketching very

simplistically, trying to establish a general form initially.

Whilst these were helpful in fi guring the character out, there is not much of these sketches in

the fi nal design.

9When it came to design Franklins face, I found myself drawing quite a cute, exaggerated character.The designs were informed predominantly by childrens television characters of the era.

Eventually, I decided that this sort of character wasnt tonally suitable as the story evolved.

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Franklins age sort of uctuated throughout his development.

The sketches and tests below were an attempt to fi nd the

perfect age for the tone of the story, the level of intelligence

for the character and the most appealing visual design.

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Franklins appearance transitioned dramatically over the development period. What started out as quite soft and illustrative gradually became darker, more realistic and robust, reminiscent of paper dolls and fashion illustration.

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Drawing in uence from 1970s fashion magazines,

knitting patterns and shopping catalogues, I began to generate

various colour options for his clothing.

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The fi nal colour scheme was settled upon, as seen here, and knitted detailing and a check pattern were added.

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A number of hairstyles were considered, each derived from popular hairstyles of both men

and children of the time.

Torn between two distinct options, I experimented with

colour variations in both styles, ultimately opting for the

redhead, neat and tidy style.

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These are the orthographic These are the orthographic drawings used when modelling drawings used when modelling the character in Maya, darkened the character in Maya, darkened for visibility when working for visibility when working against them. A few visual adjustments were A few visual adjustments were made at this stage, notably, the made at this stage, notably, the angle of Franklins shoulders angle of Franklins shoulders was adjusted slightly, as well was adjusted slightly, as well as his shoes being completely as his shoes being completely redesigned from the original redesigned from the original drawings (as seen in the side drawings (as seen in the side view).

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The characters appearance takes in uence from the

traditional postal uniforms around the world, appropriating

elements that encapsulate the intended appeal of the character.

The most notable in uence would traditional British

postmen, which I felt was more in keeping with the overly British aesthetic than a generic, modern

day delivery man.

Oddly, one of the most useful points of reference was Postman

Pat. Screen grabs came in very handy when trying to fi gure out elements such as the jacket and

hat.

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Quite often, when I design Quite often, when I design characters, I start off in an orthographic view and block in elements from there. Chiseling away at the same illustration until I get something that appears to head naturally in the right direction.

The Delivery Man was developed using my traditional method. He is built on a proportionally accurate frame, almost specifi cally designed to transition smoothly into 3D.

Unlike Franklin, in 2D this character is fairly underwhelming. I was pleasantly surprised to fi nd this character found a bit more charm and personality when I began to construct him in 3D.began to construct him in 3D.

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3D Development

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I began by modelling Franklins head, starting with a single plane, and extruding each face against the contours on the orthographic drawing. This approach allowed me to to establish the required topology from the beginning.

Gradually, the head began to take shape, revising various elements as a went along.

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The rest of Franklin started off as a series of primitive shapes,

mainly cylinders, which were gradually adjusted to conform to

the drawings.

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At this particular stage, Franklins overall geometry is complete, ready to be UV mapped, textured, skinned and rigged.

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These are the UV Maps used for texturing the Franklin model.

They have been spread across several maps, to reduce clutter

and make the process of painting textures somewhat easier.

Head

Trousers

Arms

Collar

Jumper

Shoes

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The coloured grid across the character helps to determine an even spread of UVs, ensuring that eventually when textures are applied, they will not be stretched or distorted.

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I work with both Maya and Photoshop open simultaneously,

rapidly jumping between the two to adjust the textures. This results in messy, but otherwise

effective textures.

Head

Trousers

Arms

Collar

Jumper

Shoes

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As well as the textures, several bump maps were employed to help sell the appearance of the various items of clothing, as well as a combination of a texture, bump map and subsurface scattering to create convincing, reactive skin.

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This is the fi nal model for This is the fi nal model for Franklin in front, side, top and Franklin in front, side, top and

3/4 views.3/4 views.

The views are fully textured and The views are fully textured and rendered in Mental Ray.rendered in Mental Ray.

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Overall, I was very pleased with Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome of Franklin. I feel the outcome of Franklin. I feel as though he fi ts the tone I as though he fi ts the tone I was aiming for, and this design was aiming for, and this design ultimately informed the aesthetic ultimately informed the aesthetic of the world he inhabits in the of the world he inhabits in the second half of this projectsecond half of this project

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These are singular frames These are singular frames from the turnarounds for from the turnarounds for

Franklin, demonstrating various Franklin, demonstrating various components that make up his components that make up his

design.

For the turnarounds, I chose to For the turnarounds, I chose to pose Franklin in a somewhat pose Franklin in a somewhat

authoritative and menacing authoritative and menacing stance.

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This is the rig used to animate Franklin. It possesses a good level of functionality, enabling realistic movement of his limbs.

Additional controls include phoneme and viseme blendshapes for facial animation and lip syncing, as well as tongue controls, independent eye blink controls and eyebrow manipulators.

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The Delivery Man went through the same stages of production as

Franklin, as seen here.

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These are singular frames from the turnarounds for the Delivery Man, demonstrating various components that make up his design.

I posed the Delivery Man in a somewhat exposed and naive stance, contrasting the authoritative demeanour of Franklin in his turnaround.

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Environment Development

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The general tone of the animation has been inspired

heavily by the iconic, run down aesthetic of 1970s British

architecture.

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Thematically, the contrast between bleak exteriors and bright interiors re ect the tonality of the story.

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As the story is set within an industrious town, it made sense

that Franklin would live on a street of terraced houses.

The reference used to develop this environment was taken from

various online sources, most notably, Google Street View.

This was used to view period suitable locations without having to physically scout for reference,

allowing me to view relevant locations I would not normally

be able to visit.

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I began by sketching out very simple forms in order to establish the general arrangement of particular aspects of the houses.

I had considered more elaborate designs, such as those with intricate bay windows or sloped roofi ng above the ground oor, however, these elements were far too modern for the time period.

Research had proven that terraced houses of the 1970s were strictly function over form, opting for a atter, more uniform design in respect to their key elements.

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To help inform the design of Franklins house, I developed an accurate oor plan of this non-accurate oor plan of this non-

existent space.existent space.

The colours used signify the The colours used signify the visibility of that portion of the visibility of that portion of the house in the animation. Green house in the animation. Green

meaning completely visible, meaning completely visible, orange meaning partially visible orange meaning partially visible

and red meaning completely and red meaning completely unseen.unseen.

The unseen portions of the The unseen portions of the house were established simply house were established simply to help determine a uniform to help determine a uniform scale between the exterior of scale between the exterior of

the house and the visible aspects the house and the visible aspects of the interior.

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This is the fi nal model for Franklins home. It takes elements from a number of different houses, such as the alley leading to the back garden, in an attempt to create something that accurately emulates the period.

Like real terraced houses, this model was designed to be tessellated, making it easier to duplicate the house and create a full street for the animation.

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As with the exterior, I began by sketching out very simple

arrangements of key elements, such as the staircase and doors.

Once I had established the general form of the space, I created a piece of concept

artwork to inform the colour scheme and tone of the

environment.

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This is the fi nal model for the hallway Franklins home. The design is in keeping with interior design trends of the time. Lots of varnished wood panelling, linoleum and oral wallpaper.

The hallway was modelled originally as a separate environment, then connected to the exterior, the connection masked by the doorframe.

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These thumbnails for the Cellar were more about determining object arrangement and space

than specifi c objects.

It was designed with cinematography in mind,

with space for the camera to manoeuvre the area logically, as

you would on a physical set.

These thumbnails dictate the position of key points of focus, such as the window, the desk

and the stairs.

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The Cellar environment was set up from the outset to accommodate volumetric fog, and as a result, many of the objects used in this environment are very simple in their construction. They act as more of a representation of an object than the object itself.

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I wanted to determine a distinct contrast between the

tone of the fi rst act and the second. Franklin is meant to

appear unsettling in act one, but menacing in act two.

To imply this, I experimented with drastic lighting options,

taking considerable in uences from directors such as Dario Argento in order to establish

this vivid, yet menacing atmosphere.

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The Cellar environment was set up from the outset to accommodate volumetric fog, and as a result, many of the objects used in this environment are very simple in their construction. They act as more of a representation of an object than the object itself.

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The Making of Franklin CoverThe Making of Franklin Pages